The year was 2012, the month: December. Even though the Mayans had told us the world would be ending some time the next week, we optimistically agreed to meet at Union Hall for drinks on a crisp Thursday night. Once we realized that we both loved cats and didn't particularly care for drinks, we sat for hours talking about puns, Pokemon, and podcasts. We exchanged pictures of cats and Gabe threw his phone across the bar in a display of strength and dominance. It was magical. As if that wasn't enough, the world didn't actually end and we got to spend the next 9 years building a beautiful life together.
Knowing that we would be apart this school year, we wanted to demonstrate our commitment to each other (and have a party to look forward to in 2022!). We took a beautiful hike up Shanahan Ridge, one of our favorite trails in Boulder. This trail is special to us because we learned about it from some friends and we have also had the opportunity to share it with other friends when they've come to town. We found a clearing with a breathtaking view of the valley and Gabe surprised Chava by pulling a rose out of a water bottle! We talked about our memories of our past, our joys in the present, and our excitement for the future, and we agreed that we wanted to be in this together, forever.
When thinking about getting married in New York, we knew we wanted to have our wedding somewhere that was meaningful to us and representative of the relationship we've created over the last decade. We both lived in the Park Slope neighborhood during our Brooklyn years; Chava even lived about a block from the Picnic House! We can't wait to bring all our friends and family together to a beautiful location in the park we love so much, where we spent many an afternoon at a picnic, walk, or Frisbee game.
We are so excited to share that, starting in July 2022, Chava will be moving to Washington, DC to complete her clinical internship (the last step of the PhD!). This means that Gabe gets to keep indoctrinating the children of Manhattan's Upper West Side while spending weekends in our nation's capital showing off his hometown. We're really looking forward to taking the "long" out of "long distance relationship" and educating the cats about their civic duties.